Valley house prices slow to step up

Two homes near each other are on sale in North Modesto Wednesday afternoon. (Adrian Mendoza / The Modesto Bee)

Two homes near each other are on sale in North Modesto Wednesday afternoon. (Adrian Mendoza / The Modesto Bee)

Holding steady. That's about the best that can be said about home prices in the Northern San Joaquin Valley.

While the housing recovery seems well under way elsewhere in California, Stanislaus County's median sales price has been stuck near $140,000 since May. That's what it was again in November, according to sales statistics released this week from MDA DataQuick.

In November 2008, by comparison, Stanislaus homes sold for a median $160,000 — meaning prices have dropped 12.5 percent in a year. The county's year-over-year decline is among the highest in California.

Statewide, November's median price was $261,000, up 1.2 percent from a year ago. Bay Area prices last month hit $387,000, up 10.6 percent over the previous year.